The Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation (Supplyco) has procured 1.05 lakh tonnes of paddy from Alappuzha in the puncha crop season (Crop II).
Supplyco has so far procured paddy worth ₹298.57 crore from farmers who cultivated it on 26,703.8 hectares, a major portion of which lies in Kuttanad. “Harvest has been completed in all fields. Procurement has also been completed from all but one field at Palamel. That accounts for around 2,000 kilograms,” said a Supplyco official.
Paddy procurement was based on online registrations made by farmers. The agency purchased paddy at ₹28.2 per kilogram, which includes the minimum support price (MSP) of ₹23 provided by the Union government and the State government’s ₹5.20 incentive bonus.
Pay orders for ₹95.02 crore
So far, Supplyco has issued pay orders to the tune of ₹95.02 crore to banks for disbursing procurement price to farmers.
As in previous years, farmers receive payment from banks as post-harvest credit, which is later reimbursed by the government. Though Supplyco has begun issuing paddy receipt sheets (PRS) to farmers, a majority of them are yet to receive the payment.
Officials said that only the lists of farmers who sold paddy to Supplyco until March 31 and April 15 had been given to the State Bank of India and Canara Bank respectively for disbursing the procurement price. Discussions were ongoing with the State Bank of India about rejoining the PRS loan scheme.
Fifty-three mills were involved in paddy procurement in the puncha season, which witnesses the most extensive acreage of paddy cultivation in the district. Earlier, procurement in several parts of Kuttanad and upper Kuttanad was marred by issues after mill agents demanded huge discounts, in some cases up to 15 kg per quintal, to procure harvested paddy, citing discolouration, shrivelled grains, high chaff content and moisture levels. Last month, the State government roped in the Oil Palm India to procure harvested paddy left uncollected on some polders after rice mills refused to accept them, citing poor grain quality.
The procurement price has remained unchanged since 2022-23. Though the Centre raised the MSP by ₹1.17 to ₹23 in June last year, the State offset it by reducing the bonus by the same amount to keep the price at ₹28.2. In addition to the procurement price, farmers are entitled to receive 12 paise per kg as handling charges.
Published – June 05, 2025 05:50 pm IST
